Cher (river)
The Cher is a river in central France. It is a left tributary of the Loire River. It flows through several regions of France.
Cher | |
River | |
The Cher river at Saint-Georges-sur-Cher
| |
Country | France |
---|---|
Regions | Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Centre-Val de Loire |
Departments | Creuse, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, Cher, Loir-et-Cher, Indre, Indre-et-Loire |
Tributaries | |
- left | Tardes, Arnon, Fouzon |
- right | Aumance, Yèvre, Sauldre |
Cities | Montluçon, Tours |
Source | |
- location | Mérinchal, Massif Central, France |
- elevation | 715 m (2,346 ft) |
- coordinates | 45°55′17″N 2°28′25″E / 45.92139°N 2.47361°E |
Mouth | Loire |
- location | Villandry, Indre-et-Loire, France |
- elevation | 38 m (125 ft) |
- coordinates | 47°20′33″N 0°28′50″E / 47.34250°N 0.48056°E |
Length | 367.8 km (229 mi) |
Basin | 13,920 km² (5,375 sq mi) |
Discharge | for Tours |
- average | 92.60 m³/s (3,270 cu ft/s) |
Wikimedia Commons: Cher river | |
The Cher and Loir-et-Cher departments are named after this river.
GeographyEdit
The Cher is 367.8 kilometres (228.5 miles) long. Its drainage basin covers 13,920 square kilometres (5,375 square miles).[1]
Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is 92.60 m3/s (3,270 cu ft/s) at Tours, Indre-et-Loire (1966 - 2017), near its mouth.[2]

Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Tours
CourseEdit
The Cher starts in the Massif Central, in the Mérinchal municipality, Creuse department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It starts at an altitude of about 715 metres (2,346 feet).[3]
The Cher flows, in general, to the northwest. It goes through the following regions, departments and communes:[1]
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
- Centre-Val de Loire region
- Cher: Ainay-le-Vieil, Bouzais, Saint-Amand-Montrond, Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, Colombiers, Corquoy, Crézançay-sur-Cher, Drevant, Épineuil-le-Fleuriel, Farges-Allichamps, Foëcy, La Groutte, Lapan, Lunery, Méry-sur-Cher, Nozières, Orval, La Perche, Quincy, Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, Saint-Caprais, Saint-Georges-de-Poisieux, Saint-Georges-sur-la-Prée, Saint-Loup-des-Chaumes, Thénioux, Vallenay, Venesmes, Vierzon
- Loir-et-Cher : Angé, Bourré, La Chapelle-Montmartin, Châtillon-sur-Cher, Châtres-sur-Cher, Châteauvieux, Couddes, Faverolles-sur-Cher, Gièvres, Mareuil-sur-Cher, Mennetou-sur-Cher, Monthou-sur-Cher, Montrichard, Pouillé,Selles-sur-Cher, Saint-Aignan, Saint-Georges-sur-Cher, Saint-Julien-sur-Cher, Seigy, Thésée, Villefranche-sur-Cher.
- Indre : Chabris
- Indre-et-Loire : Athée-sur-Cher, Azay-sur-Cher, Bléré, Chenonceaux, Chisseaux, Civray-de-Touraine, La Croix-en-Touraine, Dierre, Larçay, La Riche, Saint-Avertin, Saint-Genouph, Savonnières, Tours, Véretz, Villandry.
At its end, the Cher flows into the Loire River at the bec du Cher ("beak of the Cher")[N 1] in the Regional nature park Loire-Anjou-Touraine (Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine) in Villandry. That is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the city of Tours, in the Indre-et-Loire department, at 38 metres (125 feet) of altitude.[4]
Main tributariesEdit
The main tributaries, with a length greater than 50 km, of the Cher are:
GalleryEdit
The Cher at Villeneuve-sur-Cher.
Château de Chenonceau over the Cher river.
Bridge over the Cher in Saint-Florent-sur-Cher.
The Cher river at Saint-Aignan.
The Cher river at Montrichard.
Related pagesEdit
NotesEdit
- ↑ The French word bec (beak or bill in English) means, in this and similar cases, the confluence of two rivers.
ReferencesEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cher river. |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "le Cher (K---0090)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Le Cher à Tours (Pont Saint Sauveur)" (in French). Banque Hydro. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ↑ "Source de le Cher" (in French). Géoportail. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Confluence de le Cher" (in French). Géoportail. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fiche cours d'eau: la Tardes (K51-0300)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fiche cours d'eau: l'Arnon (K6--0240)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fiche cours d'eau: le Fouzon (K65-0300)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fiche cours d'eau: l'Aumance (K53-0300)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fiche cours d'eau: l'Yèvre (K5--0230)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fiche cours d'eau: la Sauldre (K6--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 29 December 2014.